Auto-mat holder.



E. W. ,CRUIKSHANK.

AUTO MAT HOLDER.

APPLICATION nunocr. 29. mg.

Patented Jan. 16,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Witnesses Attorn eys ms PsrERs co" ruomuma. WAsmm:

. E. W. CRUIKSHANK.

AUTO MAT HOLDER.

APPLICATION man OCT. 29. I915.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Witnesses E. W. CRUIKSHANK.

AUTO MAT HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED Patented Jan. 16,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- l-Hlll-llllllln Attorneys rm- NORRIS PETERS m. ruom-ufum. wnsn 1m; mu. I.v c.

pairs earn ERNEST W. CRUIKSHAN'K, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AUTO-MAT norinnn.

remote.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, ERNEST W. CRUIK- SHANK, a citizen vof the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Mary land, have invented a new and useful Auto- Mat Holder, of which the following is a specification.

An object of the invention is to provide a means whereby passengers, and others, entering a car may remove dust and dirt from the shoes, and, at the same time, provide means whereby a shoe-cleaning mat may be protected from rain, permitted to dry and discharge accumulated dust, and re sume its effective condition, when not in use, and at the same time to provide means for retaining a shoe-cleaning mat in place, when needed, without noise or rattle if the car is in motion, and without obstructing the running board or the entrance to the car, and also provide for its concealment, without detachment, when not needed.

Other objects will appear in the course of the description of the invention, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, and details of construction of the illustrated device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention; an, at present preferred, embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a general view of the device as applied to an automobile, and designed to indicate its relative inconspicuity. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device applied to an automobile running board. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the device in the housed or inoperative position. Fig. 4: is a similar view with the device in its operative position. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the carrier-frame Fig. 6 is a similar view (enlarged) of the device, showing the parts in. dotted lines in the course of reversal. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the clamping means. Fig. 8 is a detail section, taken longitudinally, to show the clamping means. Fig. 9 is a detail section, showing the means for reversing the mat seat with reference to the carrier frame. Fig. 10 is a detail section of one end of the housing to show a locking device for the movable member thereof.

. The apparatus embodying the invention, and which is designed to be applied to any Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed October 29, 1915.

Patented Jan. in, iei'r.

Serial No. 58,673.

automobile running board or step, consists, essentially, of a mat-carrier embodying a mat-seat adapted to engage and carry a cocoa mat, or other shoe cleaning appliance, and a carrier-frame by which the seat is supported, and in reference to which it is reversible, a guide in which the carrierframe is mounted, and in which it may be shifted perpendicularly to the plane of an automobile running board or step, to adjust the position of the mat-seat above or below the plane of said running board or step, and a housing to receive and protect the mechanism against dust and rain at all times, and the seat and mat when desired, while also providing for permitting the inversion and shaking of the mat or shoe-cleaning appliance to remove dust and dirt therefrom, and allow the fiber of the mat (especially when a cocoa mat is used) to recover or return to its natural condition.

In the present embodiment of the invention the mat seat is represented by a pan or tray 20, of any suitable construction adapted for the mat to be used, while the carrierframe 21 (see Fig. 5) is provided with a mat-supporting element, consisting of arms 22, having trunnions 28 for the seat, and a guided element 24, mounted in a guide which preferably has upper ways 25 and lower ways 26, communicating with each other through the connecting ways 27, to receive the runners or studs 28. The carrier-frame may be shifted in the guide to position the supporting arms, and hence the mat-seat either above or below the plane of an auto running board or step 29, (Figs. 3 and 4).

Whether the mat is in operative or inoperative position, or (as hereinafter eX- plained) in exposed or housed position, the parts of the apparatus, including the can rier-frame, must be securely locked or clamped to prevent rattling, vibration, or displacement, and to this end there is employed clamping means serving to draw the seat down firmly on the running board or step, when the mat is exposed, and as firmly secure the same when beneath the running board, and an effective structure, illustrated in the drawings, and adapted to provide for varying thicknesses of running board or step, includes a tilting or pivoted member 30, (Fig. 7) having jaws or elements, 31 and 32, for engagement with the carrier frame, the former being designed to draw downward upon the lower or guided element of said frame when the holder is exposed and the latter being adapted to bear upwardly upon the mat-supporting element of the frame when the mat is housed or concealed. Each clamping element has a camlike action, through a range of movement providing for considerable variations in the relative positions of the parts, and in order that the pressure may be firm and yet yielding, and hence adaptable to difierent con-- ditions, an operating member 33 is yieldingly' connected with the clamp member, being mounted on a pivot pin or rod 3% and acting through a spring arm 35 upon a rocker 36, geared or otherwise connected with the clamp-member, or through any other equivalent agency, serving to absorb lost motion by permitting the operating member under all conditions to be secured in a definite position, in which it may be locked, while imposing the necessary pressure on the carrier-frame (in either position) to prevent vibration.

Preferably, the operating member of the clamping means constitutes an element of a housing or case 37, within which the mat with its supporting means may be received and concealed, and hence protected, when desired. This operating member, which affords the leverage necessary to place the clamping means under tension, to lock the parts in their adjusted positions, may be secured against movement by a locking device such as a bolt 38, actuated by a spring 39 and having a finger-piece or head 40. The yielding connection between the operating member 33 and the clamping means may consist of the spring arm 35, as described, or any equivalent means which will permit the operating member or closure to be brought to its closed or normal position and yet apply to the clamping means the yielding tension necessary to hold the carrier against vibration, regardless of the thickness of the running board, and at the same time the reaction of the spring arms constituting said yielding connection serves to hold the operating member against vibra tion.

To position the mat-seat, and hence the mat, with facility, and accuracy in ahorizontal position, (or parallel with the running board of the auto) the trunnions 23 for the mat-seat may be flattened or made of cam-shape, as shown, to cooperate with bearing springs or equivalent yielding elements 41 carried by the mat-seat. The yielding elements and cam-elements are so positioned relatively as to yieldingly resist pivotal movement of the seat and cause it to snap to either normal position toward which it may be approaching. This insures alinement of the mat and seat with the direction of movement of the carrier-frame in its guides. Also, the mat-seat may include spurs or removable pins 4-2 for engaging the mat.

When the mat is housed and inverted the jarring or vibration of the auto may be relied upon to shake the dust out of the fibers thereof, and the housing is preferably constructed to gather the dust and discharge it through outlets 43 at the lowermost part of the bottom.

Inasmuch as the device herein described is designed especially for use in connection with automobiles, that is, the running boards or steps of automobiles, the expression auto mat holder is used to designate this special application and employment.

What is claimed is:

1. An auto mat holder having a carrier provided with a mat engaging element, and a guide provided with means for attachment to an auto running board or step, and in which the carrier is mounted to support the mat engaging element close to and above the running board or step, said mat engag ing element being reversible with relation to the carrier to permit of inverting the mat.

2. An auto mat holder having a carrier provided with a mat engaging element, and a guide provided with means for attachment to an auto running board or step, and also provided with means for supporting and guiding the carrier to position the mat engaging element close to and above and below the runnng board or step, said mat engaging element being reversible to permit of inverting the mat.

3. An auto mat holder having a mat carrier, and a guide provided with means for attachment to an auto running board or step and having connected guiding elements located below the plane of the auto running board or step to which it is attached, said carrier being mounted in said guiding ele ments for holding a mat close to the plane of the auto running board or step and for positioning said mat either above or below the same, and said carrier including a reversible mat engaging element to permit of inverting the mat. 4. An auto mat holder having a carrier provided with mat engaging means, and a guide for the carrier provided with means for attachment to an auto running board or step and having upper and lower ways for guiding and holding the carrier with said mat engaging means in planes above and below the running board or step.

5. An auto mat holder having a mat-seat and means for attachment to an auto running board, the latter having guiding devices upon which the former is mounted for movement into positions above and below the plane of the running board.

6. An auto mat holder having a mat-seat and means for attachment to an auto running board or step, the latter having guiding devices upon which the former is mount ed for movement into positions above and below the plane of the running board or step, clamping mechanism for locking said mat-seat in either of said positions, and means for actuating the clamping mechanism when the mat-seat is in adjusted position.

'Z. An auto mat holder having a movable mat carrier for supporting the mat in operative and inoperative positions, and a dust excluding housing for receiving the mat in its inoperative position, the carrier having a mat engaging element reversible with reference to the carrier.

8. An auto mat holder having a guide and a mat-carrier mounted thereon for supporting the mat in different positions, a housing for receiving the mat in one of its positions, and a clamping mechanism for locking the mat in one of its positions, said housing having a closure constituting an operating element for said clamping mechanism.

9. An auto mat holder having a guide and a mat-carrier mounted thereon for supporting a mat above and below an auto running board, a clamping mechanism for securing the movable parts against vibration, and an operating element for the clamping mechanism, yieldingly connected therewith.

10. An auto mat holder having a guide and a mat-carrier mounted thereon for supporting a mat above and below an auto run ning board, a clamping mechanism for securing the movable parts against vibration, and a housing for the mat-carrier having a closure vieldingly connected with the clamping mechanis 11. An auto mat holder having a guide and a mat-carrier mounted thereon for supporting a mat above and below an auto running board, a clamping mechanism for securing the movable parts against vibration, and a housing for the mat-carrier having a closure connected by a spring with the clamping mechanism, and locking means for holding the closure in its normal position.

12. An auto mat holder having a guide and a mat-carrier mounted thereon for positioning a mat above or below an auto running board, and clampingmechanism for securing the movable parts in their adjusted positions, said mechanism having compensating means to provide for variations in thicknesses of running boards, means for actuating the clamping mechanism, and locking devices for said means.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST W, ORUIKSHANK.

Witnesses:

J. B. KmBY, P. J. MITCHELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. U. 

